BILL LEE GETS A RUNNING MATE

By Celia Cohen
Grapevine Political Writer

James P. Ursomarso, a member of the Wilmington car
dealership family with impeccable Republican ties, is
expected to be introduced Monday evening at a party
meeting as the candidate whom William Swain Lee, the
leading candidate for governor, wants to run for
lieutenant governor.

Lee's search for a running mate came to focus on
Ursomarso only during the last week, but it quickly was
finalized and flashed through Republican circles, even
if the principals involved are trying to keep it quiet
until they are ready with an official announcement.

In interviews Saturday, both Lee and Ursomarso were
circumspect, although they acknowledged that they
planned to be present Monday for a meeting of the
Brandywine Region, one of the seven regions of the state
Republican Party.

Lee said, "This is still unofficial. I have made a
decision."

Ursomarso said, "I understand Judge Bill Lee has made
a decision, and he intends to announce it early next
week. I have a great deal of respect for Bill Lee. I'm
flattered if I'm considered."

Ursomarso is expected to supplant Kelly L. Gates and
Tyler P. Nixon, both seeking the Republican nomination
for lieutenant governor as free agents. Lee has made
clear all along that he intends to select his own
running mate, and there is backing within the party
leadership for him to do so.

If everything falls into place as expected, Lee and
Ursomarso would face the Democratic ticket of Gov. Ruth
Ann Minner and Lt. Gov. John C. Carney Jr. Although
Delaware elects its governor and lieutenant governor
separately, the candidates in recent years have
campaigned as the functional equivalent of tickets.

Ursomarso was not the first to be offered a spot as
Lee's running mate, according to Republicans familiar
with the search. An earlier invitation was extended
unsuccessfully to state Rep. Deborah D. Hudson, who
would have been a curious choice.

While Hudson is regarded as a talented legislator who
could have brought gender balance to the ticket, she was
once married to the brother of Thomas J. Capano, whose
sensational murder trial catapulted Lee from a judgeship
back to his first love of politics.

By settling on Ursomarso now, Lee made good on a
promise to find a running mate some weeks before the
Republican state convention in mid-May, when the party
votes on statewide endorsements. No candidate is bound
by the endorsement and may proceed to the primary
election on Sept. 11, when the nominations will be
decided.

Lee also promised to find someone who would add to
his own candidacy, and he likely has -- perhaps bringing
some extra attention from the Republican presidential
ticket because of Ursomarso's family ties.

Ursomarso's father is Frank A. Ursomarso, who is best
known locally for the Union Park car dealerships he
runs, but nationally he is close to Vice President
Richard B. Cheney from their days working in the White
House for President Gerald Ford. When the Republicans
held their national convention in Philadelphia in 2000,
Cheney stayed with Frank Ursomarso at his Chadds Ford
home.

Jim Ursomarso has been the chairman of the Wilmington
Region Republicans since 2002, and he served as the
executive director of George W. Bush's 2000 primary
campaign for Delaware. His law degree from Duke
University can do nothing but endear him to Lee, whose
fondness for Duke as his alma mater is as much a part of
him as the Capano trial.

In the small world that is politics, Ursomarso will
wind up with some sort of connection, although perhaps a
tenuous one, to the White House no matter who is elected
president. He was a summer intern in 1989 for U.S. Sen.
John Heinz, the Pennsylvania Republican who died in a
plane crash in 1991, leaving behind his wife Teresa, now
Teresa Heinz Kerry.